National Geographic Travel Photography Contest 2017

National Geographic Travel Photography Contest 2017 application process will begin on 14 April 2017. The contest is open for individuals who have reached the age of an adulthood as per the rules of their respective countries. For entry to the National Geographic Photo Contest, participants need to submit their entries online using the official portal of National Geographic with the entry fee of 15 USD for every entry. This contest started in the year 1988 and this is the 29th edition of the contest. More than 18,000 entries were received for the competition in the year 2014.

Themes of the Photo Contest: The entries can be related to any one of the following themes:

• Nature 
• Cities 
• People 

National Geographic Photography Contest Important Date

Winners of the National Geographic Travel Contest- 27th Edition

Top 10 Photography Contest

• Grand Prize: Approximate Retail Value (ARV) of the Grand Prize is Fifteen Thousand Eight Hundred Eighty Dollars (USD 15,880). The Grand Prize of the contest will have the following rewards
  • One (1) Grand Prize is available (the “Grand Prize”).
  • The Grand Prize consists of a 10-day National Geographic Galápagos Expedition for 2 in a Category
  • 2 cabin aboard the "National Geographic Endeavoura II".a
  • The Grand Prize Winner will have to fly to Guayaquil, Ecuador and then fly to Galápagos, Ecuador in order to board the ship.a
  • International airfare to/from Guayaquil, Ecuador and airfare within Ecuador is not included in the expedition cost. The group flight between Guayaquil and Galápagos is approximately USD 520.00 (subject to change).

• First Prize: The first prize of the contest will have the following rewards
  • Up to three (3), First Prizes (“First Prize”) will be awarded. Each First Prize Winner will receive Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars (USD 2,500.00).
• Second Prize: The second prize of the contest will have the following rewards
  • Three (3) Second Prizes (“Second Prize”) will be awarded.  Each Second Prize Winner will receive Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars (USD 750.00).
• Third Prize: The third prize of the contest will have the following rewards
  • Three (3) Third Prizes (“Third Prize”) will be awarded.  Each Third Prize Winner will receive Five Hundred Dollars (USD 500.00). 
• Merit Prize: A total of 7 merit prizes would be given: The trip must be completed by 15 December 2018.

Candidates interested in participating in National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest can submit their entries on its official website. The details regarding the application process are as follow:

• Specifications of the Photographs: The submitted photograph must comply with the following criteria:
  • Format: The image needs to be in digital format and musthave .JPGor .JPEG format.
    • Scanned images of negatives, transcripts or photographic prints are acceptable while submission of print or film submission is not allowed.
  • Size: The maximum size of the image should be less than 20 MB.
  • Resolution: Minimum 1600* 1600 pixels width and height.
  • Themes: The entries need to be related to either one of the following themes: Nature; Cities and People.
  • Time Duration: The photograph must not be taken prior to two years of the date of entry to the competition and should not have won any photo contest of National Geographic.
  • Editing: Minor cropping, dodging, burning or colour enhancement are acceptable along with stitched panoramas and High Dynamic Range images.
  • Caption: The image being submitted need to have a caption that describes the circumstances under which the picture was taken.
  • Original Work: The submitted image need to be the original work of the participant and any conflict arising because of any copyright etc. will be the sole responsibility of the participant.
  • Not allowed: The image should not have the watermark on it and should also not contain obscene, sexually explicit, objectionable or inappropriate content.
• Participation Fee: Each entry must be submitted with a participation fee of US$ 15.
• Number of Entries: There is no restriction on the number of entries that can be made by a participant. But separate participation fee needs to be paid for each entry.

Submission of Application Form

The submission process is online and will take place using the contest page of National Geographic’s Website. The details for the submission are as follow:

• The applicants need to visit the Contest Page and register there by entering the details.
• The applicants need to enter their name, address, telephone number, email address, photo caption.
• The payment of the fee needs to be done by following the onscreen instructions.

The selection of the winners will be done by a judging panel consisting of photographic experts. The details of the selection process are as follow:

• Judging Process: The process of judging consists of two rounds of evaluation.
• Round One: Each judge will select 10 entries from all eligible entries received. Each entry will be evaluated and marked on the following bases:
• Creativity 20%
• Photographic quality 20%
• Composition: 60%
• Round Two: The entries selected in Round One will be judged collectively by the complete panel and on the basis of Judging Criteria, the winner for each prize will be finalised.
• In the case of Tie: The tied entries will be re-submitted to the Judges for a re-judging between the tied entries alone. In the event that a tie remains after re-judging, the Submission with the highest score in the creativity criteria will be declared the winner. Winners will be chosen early to mid-July and will be notified by e-mail. 
• Result: The result of the contest will be declared in early or mid-July 2017 and the winners will be notified by email.

National Geographic Society
1145 17th Street N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036-4688, USA

Phone No.: +1 202 912 6500